Blood Doesn't Lie
by TheFirstWife
Summary: Rose never knew her parents, only her adoptive family. Unknowingly she develops Spirit and forms a bond with a certain Russian. Dimitri & Rose try to survive their new life. Yet, her family name haunts her; could she be the lost Princess? R&R. Disclaimer.
1. What Doesn't Kill You

_thanks to anyone who is about to read this. i'll love you forever if you review c:_

_just in case you get confused, I'll explain at the end. _

_please, enjoy!_

Chapter One.

"Rose, stop! Someone's going to start complaining!" Serena whispered, trying to keep me quiet. How could I be quiet now though? I was on my way home!

"Look around you, Serena, no one's going to rat me out." Everyone on the plane was either asleep or had their own headphones blasting in their ears.

She sighed and shook her head at me, but a smile played across her face giving her true emotions away.

"You think you got the best of me, you think you've had the last laugh," I laughed at Serena's horrified expression to me singing at the top of my voice. "Baby, you don't know me 'cause you're dead wrong!" I could see Serena's expression start to soften and we both chimed in with the next set of lyrics.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" We continued to sing the rest of the song, but when our new favorite Drake song came on the flight attendant came over to shush us. Serena flustered and apologized for our "disturbances".

I burst out laughing as she playfully slapped me across the arm. "Hey!" I whispered loudly. "You're not supposed to harm your charge!" Serena clamped a hand over my mouth and shushed me again. Struggling against any Guardian's grip was stupid for a weak Moroi like myself, especially when that Guardian was Serena.

Since she didn't let me go I decided that there was only one way out of this situation. I licked her hand.

Serena didn't move at first, but after a few more gross licks she squealed and pulled away, wiping her hand on her jeans.

"That's just gross, Rose." I laughed and put my headphones back in, lip syncing to my favorite playlist for the remainder of the flight to Novosibirsk.

Serena had been my Guardian since I was about thirteen, which was merely three years ago, and we'd been best friends ever since. Basically my life went like this: I was orphaned from birth, and adopted a few months later by the Belikov family, until Serena became my Guardian I'd spent my life in the little town of Baia, but ever since I'd spent my school years abroad and my summers back home.

This past year I'd spent in Spain with Serena as my tutor and Guardian, she was pretty amazing at tolerating me. I loved her. Anyway, now I was on my way back to Baia to spend the hot months of June, July, and August with my favorite, and only, family.

"Rosemarie Belikova," I felt cold hands shake me awake. Serena stood over me in the aisle of the plane with our luggage in her hands.

"You know better than to call me that Serena," I warned her with a smirk. She laughed lightly and nodded.

"Come on, grab your carry on stuff, so we can head home." _Home._ I smiled at the thought of Olena baking me midnight lunch, Sonya buying Viktoria and me clothes when we went shopping, Karolina and myself playing with Paul and Zoya at the playground, and Yeva trying to teach me Russian. Hopefully Dimitri would be there this summer, he'd missed the last two because he'd been so busy Guarding Ivan Zeklos.

Serena and I rushed out of the airport and onto the next train to Baia. I couldn't help but let my mind wander back to my brother. Well, technically Dimitri was my nothing, but ever since I'd been adopted by the Belikov's I'd loved them. In fact, I'd taken their last name when I'd been adopted. I don't think I can even remember my orphaned last name...

"Serena," I poked her from the seat next to her. She immediately turned to face me, giving me a quick inspection before speaking.

"Yes, Rose?" My heart swelled at her concern for me.

"I'm hungry is all, do you think you could...you know," I felt nervous about asking her to do this. I knew if Serena wasn't able to find me a feeder that she'd volunteer herself. I really didn't want that.

"No problem," She stood up and looked out of the private train room and down the hall. "I'll be back, I'm pretty sure this train is Moroi friendly..."

"Thanks," I murmured as she left down to the left of the hallway.

Sometimes I wished I was a Dhampir, it would just be so much easier. I wouldn't need a feeder, I would be just like the Belikov's, and would be able to defend myself. Whatever.

My mind couldn't being to comprehend what my eyes were seeing. _The house was on fire._ Sweet baby Jesus the house was on _fire._ I panicked and froze. I wasn't sure how to get past the crowd.

Serena grabbed my wrist and pushed through the crowd of people, she shouted angrily in Russian. It was a language I had yet to learn. Now was clearly not the time. We stopped pushing when we made it to the front of the crowd, and both of us now stood in front of the house that lit up the night sky in flames.

"Listen, Rose," Serena shook my shoulders to gain my focus. I painfully averted my gaze from my dying home. "I'm going in there, and I need you to promise me you'll stay here. Okay?" I nodded. She shook me again. "Promise?" I blinked back tears.

"Promise."

She ran into the house, having to knock in a window to get in. I paced and paced, staring in horror at the burning house. Minutes ticked by. After the first piece of debris fell, I couldn't stand it anymore. I went in.

It was hot. Unbelievably hot. My skin automatically felt singed, I ignored my body's bitching and crawled on the floor of the house. At the moment I wished I'd specialized in a magical element already instead of being a late bloomer. The ability to control fire would have been very helpful right now.

Smoke engulfed my lungs and blocked any far vision. As a Moroi, my eyesight was heightened anyway so I was able to make out Serena walking toward me with Viktoria and Olena around her arms. They were all coughing and honestly looked like they could collapse any second. I stood up to help them and was only a few feet away from them when a big piece of the ceiling collapsed in. I jumped out of the way, landing awkwardly on the floor.

I screamed out in pain when my ankle twisted unnaturally.

"Serena!" I called out for my Guardian, for my best friend.

There was no answer.

"Damnit!" I cursed and made myself get up enough to crawl towards the burning debris. I didn't think my stomach would be able to handle whatever I saw next, but I moved forward anyway. As soon as I spotted the place where the ceiling had begun to fall in I frowned, feeling tears well up.

There was nothing but a large pile of debris...and three dead bodies. I cried and sobbed for a few seconds before my brain had enough sense to remind me to get out of the house before I died too. Did I want to live after this, though? What more did I have? Nothing.

Coughing sounded from the back of the house. I hurriedly made my way around burning furniture and fallen pieces of the house to the back room. I nearly gasped in horror as I saw Dimitri coughing and wheezing from underneath a fallen bookshelf.

Tears spilled down my cheek as I reached out to him. "Shh, Dimitri," I ran my fingers through his dark hair. "It'll be okay. We'll be okay." I was failing horribly at convincing him, much less myself. The front of the house started to collapse and I shrieked in horror. I wasn't going to die. Not now, I had to save Dimitri. "Come on," I tugged hard on his muscular forearm, trying helplessly to pull him free from under the bookshelf.

Soon enough everything was burning, including the bookshelf itself. I was pretty sure if Dimitri and I didn't get out of the house now we'd be the next ones to burn or die. Sobs erupted from my chest as I put all my will power into yanking on Dimitri's arm one more time.

Dimitri's body rolled out from under the bookshelf and onto my lap. Without any time to waste, I save the small joyous moment for later when we lived. The backdoor to the house was a sliding door and after trying to break it like Serena had with the window, I realized it wasn't going to work that way.

Dimitri coughed more, practically dying against my much smaller body. "We're going to be okay, we'll get out of here." I whispered to him, starting to cough myself. "Hold on." I encouraged him. His large hand wrapped loosely around my waist. I wanted to smile, but decided that surviving was the best thing right now. Near us on the floor lay a kitchen knife. I knew that the handle would be hot because it was metal, as was the blade, but none-the-less it was the best option right now to getting out of this burning house alive.

It took a few stabs, but eventually I made a break through with the thick glass. I shoved Dimitri through the crack and then followed suit. Sure, I'd only been in that house for a maximum of five minutes, but it was hardly standing now.

Exhausted and sore from injuries, I collapsed with Dimitri in the beginning of the woods behind the house. As soon as we'd looked back at the house it blew up in flames.

Tears and sobs continued to erupt from me. I couldn't stand it anymore. I was hurt. I was sad. I was at loss. All I had was a dying Dimitri; my only friend left.

Or not. When I looked away from the house, I'd noticed that Dimitri had stopped coughing. Well, he'd stopped breathing too.

"Damnit! No!" I panicked and started to lightly tap him. "Dimitri?" He didn't answer me. He didn't move. "DIMITRI BELIKOV!" Nothing. "Don't do this to me, please," I whispered over and over as I started CPR helplessly. I knew it wouldn't work.

I sobbed onto his chest, soaking his warm shirt. "No, no, no," I could barely speak through my cries. "Don't leave me, Dimitri." I sat up and started shouting again.

"YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!" I pounded his chest with my small fist. "DIMITRI! DIMITRI!" I repeated his name over and over. I would never give up.

Suddenly I felt sparks of joy, and happiness. It was hard to explain, it wasn't a feeling I'd ever experienced before. I felt alive, and yet at the same time I felt myself growing weaker and weaker.

Finally I felt the light and happiness and sense of being alive dry up. It stopped. My eyes started to droop, but the last things I remember was a beautiful pair of brown eyes meet my own and this wonderful deep voice with a Russian accent whisper, "Roza," before I truly fell into unconsciousness.

_so, for those of you who need help understanding._

_Rosemarie Belikova was orphaned as an infant and then adopted by the Belikov's, hence the last name._

_She then grew up there, and she's a Moroi, until she got her own Guardian so she could travel._

_Yes, technically Dimitri is her brother, but not really. I promise they'll end up together._

_There will be so many more twists if you didn't already catch on to that._

_At the moment Rose is sixteen and Dimitri is twenty-three._

_thanks, and review with any questions or comments._

_:)_

_P.S. if you didn't already figure it out...you need help...but they have a bond now. OMGGG. kay, please review :*_

_~Kaitlyn_


	2. Run, Rose!

_I am apologizing ahead of time._

_THIS WILL BE THE ONLY SLOW CHAPTER. i need it as a filler._

_please read & review._

Chapter Two.

I feel my conscious mind and body take in my surroundings. There are birds chirping in nearby trees about three hundred yards to my right and a stream not much farther beyond them. My hearing was excellent on its own, and was enhanced as a Moroi anyway. There's a tingly feeling in my leg, as if it was asleep. Damn. I hate when that happens because it hurts too much to move it.

Without moving my legs I stretch in my position, only to realize I'm not on the ground before I'm about to fall. My eyes spring open, ready to prepare myself for the ground slamming into me and most likely knocking the wind out of me.

Except it doesn't happen.

My sight is slightly blurred and groggy from sleep as I focus in and out on the man carrying me. His facial expression stern and unwavering. He must not have noticed I was awake.

I make a point of yawning and stretching my very sore and stiff body. I watch as the corner of Dimitri's lips deceive him and curve ever so slightly into a small smile. Only very close friends and family would've have recognized that as a smile on his beautiful face, it was that unnoticeable.

"Morning," He greets. His heavy Russian accent laced with deeper octaves than I remember. He had grown up since I last saw him...about three or four years ago.

"Good morning," I say back to him. It's pretty awkward because I'm currently being carried bridal style by Dimitri through what was obviously the woods behind our house.

Our house.

Suddenly images flashed through my brain, overtaking my vision and causing me to sweat and hyperventilate. The fire, debris falling on Serena, Dimitri coughing his life away, the house collapsing in on us, and finally it blowing up altogether.

Dimitri must've noticed my expression change because he gave me a puzzled look when I came back into the present.

"I..the house...everyone's..." Tears are already welling up in my eyes and I can barely choke out those words without sobbing, but when I was about to say, "Everyone's dead," I burst into tears and hide my face in Dimitri's shirt.

Dimitri must've laid me down on the forest floor because soon I was no longer suspended and a pair of tanned and muscled arms wrapped around me.

He whispered Russian lullabies in my ear, stroking through my long dark hair with his fingers. We sat like that for minutes, maybe even hours. Except, it couldn't have been hours because the sun had barely moved from its place just above the horizon when I woke up. It was nearly nightfall now, I must've have slept a whole day.

"Two, actually." Dimitri tells me. We stand up and continue walking in the original direction, towards a small cabin I knew would be there.

"What?"

"You've been asleep for two days," He paused. "you almost scared me to death because I thought I'd lost you too. You were breathing though, so I knew that I should carry you towards Yeva's summer cabin."

I pondered that for a moment. It was weird that he'd said that, because surely I remembered I was thinking about how long I'd slept, not said it aloud. I guess I was wrong. I peered through some of the trees and bushes ahead, catching a glimpse of deep brown logs stacked neatly on top of each other with an array of blooming flowers surrounding them. Or, in other words, Yeva's summer cabin.

Yeva, who was technically my adoptive grandmother, was usually spending most of her summer's hiding out in here while everyone piled into our house. It was busy and crowded over summer when everyone was visiting, mainly Viktoria came back from school and Serena and I from our broad learning.

As we got closer to the cabin I soon realized that over the past few summers no one had occupied it. Yeva had stayed with us when Dimitri didn't return home those summers and as a result the cabin had been out of use.

Dimitri opened the door for me and I was immediately hit by the still air and lingering dust. Sneezing a few times into the air, I tried to adjust the lighting. It was certainly dimmer and took a few moments for me to see anything.

Dimitri walked past me quickly and plopped down on the couch in the living room area. I decided to lay down on the opposite couch.

He smiled at me, "Thank you," I must've looked confused, because he added, "for saving my life."

I dismiss him with a wave of my hand. "Please, you would've done the same for me." He only shrugs.

"So..how exactly did the fire start anyway?" I ask sheepishly, unsure of how sensitive he was to the recent tragedy.

"Oh, um." He struggles for words and I instantly feel guilt wash over me, how stupid could I be?

"Never mind. It was stupid of me to ask." I fumble with the tips of my hair as I sit up and face Dimitri.

His eyes burn through me. The intensity, the emotion, the affection. I feel my cheeks start to burn up, but push it away, I'd grown up with Dimitri and it was certainly unfair for me to be feeling anything more than friendship and comfort, right? Ugh.

Dimitri moves across the small space and sits next to me on the couch. He wraps an arm around me, pulling me into his hard core chest. I cling to him, as he clings to me.

This small notion of comfort was absolutely necessary for us. We'd just lost our family and our home. Well, I'd lost it all again. Still. It hurts.

"You deserve to know," Dimitri tells me.

"Huh?" I stopped tracing designs in his skin with my finger long enough to glance up at him.

"You deserve to know what happened...back there." I study him for a moment, taking in the look in his eyes and the way his one hand that lays on my shoulders is combing my hair, and finally I notice the state that he's in. I let him tell me.

"Alright," I wait for Dimitri to start, though I was afraid myself for what he was about to say.

"Mama and Sonya were cooking in the kitchen, making your favorite dinner when I walked in the front door." He tries to find a spot to focus on around the room, but ends up looking into my eyes. "It's the first time I'd been home in a while and we all took time to talk in the living room. Maybe only an hour passed before smoke starts drifting from the kitchen," He sighs, running his free hand through his hair. "the alarm must have been broken because there's a full-on fire in the kitchen and not one siren sounded." I was practically engulfed in his story at this point, paying full attention. Dimitri, however, seemed to be in another world altogether. "We try to put it out but it just keeps growing." This time when Dimitri paused it took several minutes before he continued. "I only remember my lungs filling with toxic smoke, being held down by a large weight, and then being pushed through a glass door and collapsing at the entrance of the woods with you before falling unconscious."

Images flash through my mind again. I shake the thoughts out of my head. Without completely thinking, I decide to tell him what I witnessed. It eased the pain somewhat, as painful as it was now I knew talking about was helping me in the long run.

"You don't have a Guardian anymore?" Dimitri asks carefully. I know he would do anything for me, but I can't ask this of him.

"No, but I don't think you being my Guardian would benefit you." I'd known when he asked the question what his intentions were, he wanted to guard me now.

"Why wouldn't it?" His brow furrows in confusion, it was kind of cute. Knock it off Rose! God, now you're talking to yourself. Mentally I slam my palm to my forehead, but in reality I just sigh.

"You're guarding Ivan, your best friend, and I couldn't ask you to leave him like that." I silently wished that Dimitri would stay with me forever, and not have to go back to work.

"That's not a problem," He avoids my gaze, looking anywhere else in the room.

"Of course it is, you can't possibly watch both of us and he had dibs anyway." I respond lightly to his dark mood.

"He's dead." Dimitri blurts out. Guilt begins to sweep over me. I was beyond moronic.

"Dimitri, I'm sorry!" I wrap my arms tightly around him and place a small kiss to his cheek.

"It's not your fault."

"Well, I shouldn't have been so naive and oblivious!" I counter, now adding mentally that Dimitri had lost more than family recently, because now his charge was gone. Then again, so was my Guardian.

"It's not your fault." He repeats. I sigh and rub small circles into his back, where my hands hold onto him, still wrapped around his chest.

"It's not yours either," I automatically say. I hope this will bring him back somewhat, he was just acting so distant and ominous.

"Yes, it is. If I hadn't left for my vacation time this summer than I would've been able to protect him from the Strigoi, unlike his other Guardian." I stay silent throughout his explanation, his voice rising twice.

He sighs and leans into my hold, we cuddle for another moment before we both stand up to look for food. I knew that he blamed himself for Ivan's death, but it obviously wasn't his fault.

The room starts to spin and blur, suddenly I feel my feet fall from under me. My hands are able to stop the direct contact between my face and the floor. Catching my breath and steadying the world, I sit on the floor with my head in between my knees.

Dimitri helps me up and watches me with a concerning look on his face, followed by his brow furrowing.

"How long has it been since you fed?" I stiffen at the question. It was always awkward around the Belikov's and Serena whenever they brought up my Moroi features. My eyes fall to the floor, taking notice in the beautiful woods floors of the cabin.

"Rose," He warns. I sigh and cross my arms as I meet his deep brown eyes.

"Two maybe three..." I mumble, but his intense hearing catches it clearly.

"_Days?_" He sounds aghast, upon which he immediately pulls me onto him as he sits on the couch and cranes his neck openly for me. I fidget with my fingers, trying hard not to think about the sweet blood pulsing through his veins.

"Rose, you have to." Sighing in defeat, I realize he's right. There's no feeders out here. There is absolutely no one at all out here except for Dimitri.

My fangs sink into his neck and the sweet bloods flows to my mouth.

I make it quick and make sure it's cleaned before I stand up and walk away, taking a seat at the dining room table, a good enough distance away.

Dimitri is smiling with a goofy grin on his face, and frankly it's so difficult not to laugh at him. He's never looked so relaxed, so content in years. The last time he was this openly expressive was probably right before he hit high school, and I was only seven or eight at the time.

I fell asleep in the only bedroom hours ago. I hadn't achieved at getting much sleep, however I was certainly relaxed now. Dimitri shook my shoulder twice, I lay there unresponsive. He poked me in the stomach. It takes almost every ounce of my will not to laugh or twitch. Finally, Dimitri tries to wake me by kissing the tip of my nose.

As soon as I feel the warmth of his breath radiate from a distance that's safe, I open my eyes and sit up, a smile clear on my face.

"I think we should go see the house." My smile fades as I take in his words.

We arrived back to the cabin with teary eyes and sullen faces. Reality is ready to hit us.

The next day was spent staying in the cabin, cleaning and finding edible things for us to eat. Eventually we decide that we need to venture to the market for there to be something to eat here.

"No," Dimitri sternly objects.

"Oh, come on. We're starving here, you and I both know that we can't hold up another hour without food." Technically it'd been two days since we'd eaten anything besides forest berries and stale crackers that we found. Even with the blood dose yesterday I was beginning to feel fatigue.

"It's nighttime. There will be Strigoi out there waiting to pick us off." He counters.

"How do you know that?" He gives me that knowing look and even I can't argue with that. He was right. My stomach growled, so did his a minute later. I return the knowing look to Dimitri, and he sighs.

"Fine,"

We leave a few moments later, securing and preparing ourselves with the little necessities we had or would bring with us for the twenty mile walk to the center of town.

"Dimitri," I try to start up a conversation as we get closer and closer to the town. "Have you ever thought of getting a girlfriend anytime soon?" He raises one eye brow at me. Cool.

"No," He stresses out the word, half grinning when he adds, "Have you ever thought of getting a boyfriend anytime soon?" I toss him a teasing smile but remain silent, not wanting to mention the past few flings I've had. He could be a bit overprotective sometimes.

I hear the light pitter patter of feet running on the ground, I turn to Dimitri, "Did you hear that?" He pauses for a moment, listening for what my ears had already picked up. He nods, then places a finger over his lips, telling me to be quiet.

Within seconds I've been pushed to the floor and Dimitri is already engaging in a fight. I push myself up out of the dirt and spin my head around to see Dimitri swiftly stake down a relatively average-sized Strigoi. Through the darkness I can see sets of red-rimmed eyes watching us intently.

They were coming closer and closer to us. Dimitri turns to me and in the most unexpected tone shouts, "Run, Rose, run!" I hesitate for a moment, not wanting to leave him. He shoves me in the opposite direction of the Strigoi and continues to shout out to me as my feet take flight. "Run, Rose!"

_Now let the story begin :)_

_Please read & review._

_I love you all!_

_~Kaitlyn_


	3. Godly Good Looks

Chapter Three.

My brain wasn't able to fully understand what was happening while my weak muscles forced themselves to sprint toward the town. I couldn't leave Dimitri, though. He's all I have left.

I stopped in my tracks and spun around, panting, desperately looking around for him. I was unable to find his towering body in the dark, even with my heightened vision. Frantically spinning in circles I squinted through broken windows in buildings to my left, the open land in front of me, and finally to the more populated town to my right. Still, nothing. It was as if some greater force had paused the Earth around me. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound. Nothing dared to, either.

Towards the town, that's where I should head. I was pretty sure we'd come through the woods, but maybe it was the open land, I had no idea and the tightness in my chest wasn't helping me think straight.

Tears started to build up in my eyes and soon became a problem, it was affecting my sight immensely. Everything blurred. My legs felt weak and my head began to throb. I could pass out anytime now. Instead I pushed my body forward, demanding it stopped bitching at me so that I could locate that idiot Russian.

I was a few hundred yards from the train station which meant I was another half mile from the center of the town, not that it would be filled with people at two in the morning, but maybe there was someone that could help me.

Tears weren't the only thing clouding my vision anymore, dirt and pavement immediately hit me as I flew to the ground. Lifting myself up from the solid ground I glanced back at my feet and saw that I had tripped over a small rock and once again damaged my ankle. Impeccable timing.

"What a young Moroi you are," A voice hissed. My body tensed and I tried to stand up, but instead I fell to the ground and only stared at the Strigoi man from my sitting position on the ground.

"What the hell do you want?" I hadn't even realized I said that till it came out. Where did _that _come from?

"Feisty," He paused to lick his lips and step closer to me. "That's a delicious quality."

I'm pretty sure my heart stopped hearing that.

"Don't you dare talk to her that way," A cold, unforgiving voice snarled at the Strigoi from behind him. I couldn't tell who it was, but judging from the stake that pierced the Strigoi's heart directly after I knew it had to belong to my Russian.

Dimitri stepped cautiously around the limp body and pulled me up into his arms once more, carrying me towards the train station.

It took a few minutes for me to register what just happened before my voice found the ability to speak. "Where are we going?" I hadn't meant for my voice to break, but it did. Oh well.

Dimitri's soft brown eyes focused on me, probably noticing the dirt, scratches, and puffy eyes.

"Away from here."

"How did you find me? I was looking for you." I admitted.

"I sort of...never mind." He shook his head.

"No, tell me." I pressed, and thankfully he gave in.

"One minute I was killing Strigoi and then I noticed one got away, the next thing I know I'm running around, lost, and then I realized I was in your head, aware of your thoughts and feelings." Dimitri confessed.

We stayed quiet from then on and he managed to book tickets to the next train to Novosibirsk. We sat together on two ends of a wooden bench as we waited the twenty minutes for the next train.

My ragged breathing had finally evened itself out, the cuts beginning to burn after a few minutes. It was awkward. I took the risk of glancing at Dimitri, who glanced away into the distance where we came from.

"Dimka," I ushered his Russian nickname very quietly. When he didn't look at me I repeated it louder, "Dimka."

His eyes nearly scared me. For the second time in my life I witnessed those beautiful brown orbs filled with sadness. It reminded me of when we were little, but I couldn't think about those terrible times now.

"Roza," He breathed. A weak smile appeared on my lips. Dimitri opened his arms and motioned for me to come to him. I did happily. Snuggling into his chest and closing my eyes, feeling much safer.

"Thank you,"

"For what?" He leaned his head on my own.

"Risking your life to save mine," I stated.

"I'll always do that for you."

"I know, but-" Dimitri cut me off.

"You saved my life earlier, so now we're even." I half smiled again.

"Yeah," I replied.

When the train came we boarded into a first class room and settled into the one bed. I yawned and whispered a few words to Dimitri before drifting off to sleep in his embrace.

"I hope you scare away my nightmares tonight." The last thing I remember was his arms tightening around me as I lost consciousness.

I woke up to a dim lit room. It was most certainly not the room on the train that I fell asleep in. My mind panicked for a brief moment before remembering that Dimitri and I had taken refuge in a hotel in Novosibirsk early this morning. I'd probably slept the day away.

"Dimitri?" I asked, getting up and entering the hotel kitchen and living room.

"Hungry?" He asked back, standing in the kitchen over the stove with a pan that contained food.

"Aren't I always?" He smirked and laughed at my response before putting some bacon and eggs on a plate for me. I beamed.

"Yum!"

"So I think we should just hang low for now..." I looked up from my plate to meet his eyes and frowned.

"So, basically, you're grounding me?"

"Well,"

"I'm not hiding up in here, Dimitri." His brows furrowed.

"Why?"

"Because I just witness almost everything that mattered to me die. I almost lost you, too." I paused and added more calmly. "I want to live while I can."

"Seems fair." The tension that had erupted began to diffuse.

As soon as I was done eating I threw away my disposable utensils and plate and poked Dimitri in the arm before racing toward the bedroom shouting, "Dibs on bathroom!" I noticed earlier it was the only one in the hotel, and it was in the bedroom.

"Rose, you're such a child-" Dimitri's exasperated words stopped, on his own accord, as he stomped after me shouting back, "Wait, I didn't brush my teeth yet!"

I barely closed and locked the bathroom door in time before Dimitri's body slammed into it. I laughed at the big thud he made.

"You're so fat," I laughed and backed away from the door, only staring at it.

"No I'm not!" Dimitri protested.

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"I am not!"

"You are too!"

I ran a brush through my hair, that had been provided by the high class hotel, and laughed lightly.

"Rose, stop being a child and let me in!" Dimitri hollered, banging on the bathroom door.

I started the sink and began mocking him by brushing my teeth loudly and mumbling back.

"What?" I answered in another mumble. "Rose, come on, I need to brush my teeth too!"

I spat out the suds and washed my face real quick before finally responding to him.

"Why should I let you in?"

"So my teeth are sparkly clean and healthy." Dimitri responded.

I don't know if it was because Dimitri sounded so upset about not having clean teeth or because he said sparkly –it was probably the latter- but I opened the door and let him in, smiling broadly.

He frowned, causing me to laugh and hug him. "You know I love you!"

As he brushed his teeth I couldn't help but think about him saying sparkly and laughed to myself.

We did end up leaving the hotel room that day. Thankfully it was cloudy enough and late enough in the afternoon, but not dark enough for Strigoi, for us to go out and about in the city. We bought necessities such as clothes, food, personal toiletries, and some entertainment stuff too.

This last hour we've spent looking at a brick wall. Fun, right?

Well, actually it was some historic site that Dimitri recognized. He's been lecturing me about it, but I've been eye balling this one candy store and the fashion one next to it. I guess he finally realized I wasn't paying attention because Dimitri stopped talking.

"It's getting late, we should get back." I nodded along with him, then held his hand for security. There was literally a spark, a flame if you will, that ignited at our skin touching. It was really weird and I was about to pull away when Dimitri stopped me.

"Don't let go." I smiled and leaned into him as we walked back to the hotel.

"I miss them, Dimitri."

"Me too, Roza."

I smiled to myself, remembering how Dimitri used to call me that when he was feeling affectionate. I hope the rule still applied.

A month later we were in the same position, sort of.

"Rose, I feel bad about spending all of your savings." Dimitri admitted, joining me on the hotel couch.

"Please," I scoffed, snuggling up to him. "I have too much of it." Honestly, my parents must have been rich. That's sort of the only thing I know about them. I was told that my parents died not long after I was adopted by the Belikov's and left me a ton of money.

"You had another nightmare last night," He told me. I could feel his eyes boring into me as I tried to keep a poker face.

I faced him, "I know."

"I tried to wake you after I realized it wasn't my nightmare." I twiddled with my fingers. It was a touchy subject topped off with a new one.

Apparently, Dimitri had this new sense that allowed him to be "sucked" into my head. It sounded horrible for me. He was able to see my thoughts, feelings, most of my memories, and experience what I was experiencing at times. Great, right?

"It's not entirely great when you are on your menstruation cycle," Dimitri shuddered. "Anyway, how are you?"

"Fine."

Dimitri gave me that, "bullshit" look and I stood up desperately needing some pain relievers and lemonade.

"Rose, please talk to me about this." I didn't want to turn around and look into his deep brown eyes.

"Why? You already know what's going on in my head."

"You know it's not like that," He said. I took two pills and downed it with the last remains of the pink lemonade in the fridge.

"No I don't. I can't see through your mind." I leaned back on the kitchen cabinets and finally opened my eyes to see him in the same spot on the couch.

"I can hardly see yours either," I narrowed my eyes at him. "I only get pulled in by your mind when your feelings are especially strong, Rose!" Dimitri protested.

"Still!" I threw my hands up in the air, then ran them through my hair and stomped off to the bathroom and washed my face in the sink.

"Calm down, Rose." I told myself. "It's not a big deal." I frowned at myself in the mirror. "Yes it is, because you're talking to yourself."

"Hey, Rose," Dimitri called from the bedroom. I walked out and leaned on the edge of the door frame, taking in his godly good looks. It was a shame we were related... Well, actually we weren't. At all. Before anything else formed in my mind I stopped myself. No way was I letting Dimitri see _that_.

"Yeah?"

"We should go out." I swear I nearly choked.

"What?" It was weak and croaky, after coughing a good amount to clear my throat, I repeated, "What?"

"For dinner. We should go out to eat tonight. My treat." He looked so innocent. Mentally kicking myself I smiled back at him.

"Sure, but Dimitri?" He waited for me to continue. "I'm paying." He shook his head and I laughed lightly.

"You're going to kill someone wearing that." I said twenty minutes later when Dimitri came out wearing a nice suit. It fit him very well. Not that I'd let him know that, though. My thoughts only...hopefully. Damn it.

"That's my job, Roza." Dimitri joked. I beamed and picked up a small black purse that matched my four-inch heels.

"Oh, right," You're a genius, Rose. "Well you sure look good doing it." I winked and checked my hair one more time before linking my arm in his. "Ready, Dimka?"

A small smile formed at his lips. "Of course, and may I say that you look dangerously good in that dress?" I looked down at my tight white dress. It was new.

"Yes, you may." He laughed nicely at that, which made my smile grow.

"What am I going to do with you, Rosemarie?" I ignored Dimitri calling me by my full name.

_There are so many things you could do with me. _

My mind must have thought that before I realized what it meant. Afraid Dimitri had "heard" me I glanced in his direction as we entered the hotel elevator. He smirked at me. I panicked and had trouble hiding the blush on my cheeks. I'm sure he saw that, too. Great.

This was going to be an interesting night, that's for sure.

_I was honestly going t__o keep going for another few pages._

_But I had to stop somewhere._

_Please review :)_

_~Love Kaitlyn_

_P.S.- I have a few questions for you to answer in your review (I accept anon)_

_Do you read The Hunger Games?_

_What's your favorite part of B.D.L (Blood Doesn't Lie) so far?_

_Favorite color?_


	4. Drinks & Kisses

_Here's another chapter lovelies :) _

I tried to contain my thoughts within a wall so that Dimitri wouldn't be able to access them. I'm pretty sure it was working. After having that awkward moment in the elevator I began to question where it came from.

Nothing romantic had ever occurred between us. Ever. We'd always been best friends and the ideal brother and sister. I was never mad at him and he was never mean to me. I'm not denying we'd joked around a lot.

"Dimitri!" I hollered as I ran down the stairs in our house looking for him.

"Yeah, Rose?" He asked all too innocently.

I placed my hands on my hips, "Where's my lip gloss?" Dimitri shrugged and continued to talk with his group of school friends that had come over the house. I glared at him, it was obvious he'd taken it while I was in the shower because we were the only ones home today.

"Hey, Rose." One of Dimitri's friends greeted with a smile. She had icy blue eyes and sleek black hair. She was so pretty, and it was obvious that she liked Dimitri, too.

"Rose, this is Tasha." Dimitri introduced us.

I smiled sweetly, "Hello," Then averted my gaze to Dimitri with a glare. "I want my lip gloss back." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tube of pink lip gloss, throwing it up and catching it repeatedly.

"What do you say?"

I was already late for a sleepover party at my friends house and wasn't in the mood for his brotherly tricks. Instead of replying I walked up and reached out for the lip gloss. He held it above his head, smirking, so that it was out of my reach.

"Dimka!" I complained. "That's my favorite one!"

"If you can get it you can keep it."

"That's not fair! You're like two feet taller than me!" I pointed out, and my long dark hair was dripping down my back now from the shower I'd just taken. Drying it was too much work.

He arched one eyebrow at me. Damn him. I noticed a sandwich he just made and picked it up. Two could play at this game. I bit it and started to back up when he reached out for it.

"Rose, I just made that!" I took another bite. "Come on, there's no more lunch meat to make another one." He held out his hand for the sandwich.

"What do you say?"

"Please, Roza."

I eyed him skeptically, then recalled how he still held my lip gloss hostage. "No, I don't think so."

He lunged forward at an incredible speed, but I was already running away from him and toward the front door. I giggled as he caught up with me, picking me up from behind and twirling me around by my waist.

When he put me down, I smirked. "Here's the other half of your sandwich." He took it grudgingly and I walked back to his group of friends to retrieve the lip gloss he left on the kitchen counter.

"You left teeth marks, Rose." Dimitri complained as he inspected the remainder of his sandwich.

"It's hard not to with fangs." I shrugged, Tasha and another Moroi laughed along with me at Dimitri's exasperated sigh. "See you later, Dimitri." After that I'd packed up and left for the sleepover, but I noticed later that Dimitri was having a hard time fending off a flirty Tasha. Sucks.

"Can we get another bottle over here?" Dimitri asked the waitress nicely. She nodded and then returned with a large bottle of Russian wine. Like all of the other alcoholic drinks here, it was strong.

"Hit me," Dimitri hesitated at first, but a man-eater smile from me won him over and he filled my glass. I'd already had a few glasses and was soon on my way to being drunk, if I wasn't already. I couldn't tell.

"Rose, this isn't a good idea."

"Sure it is!" I tried to grab the bottle and pour some for him, but he took it from me before I could reach it. "Hey, what gives?"

"You're drunk, we should go home."

"There is no home for us anymore, remember?" I asked, squinting to see him better through the blurs.

Dimitri suddenly looked so sullen and just plain sad. I felt a pang of guilt and handed him the remaining half of my glass. "Drink." Once again, his Guardian instincts took over and he set it down away from us. After a few long minutes of my babbling and inconsiderate talk of our losses and dead family, the tempting wine won him over. It was gone before I could slur anything.

"Whoop!" I cheered, clapping my hands and reaching for the bottle, which he didn't stop, and poured him another. "Don't stop now."

It was as if the next two glasses that he drank set him on fire. Dimitri kept forgetting to glance around, he openly talked about the recent past trauma, and even ordered a bottle of vodka to take home. I complied happily when he suggested we head home to celebrate our first successful month alone and alive.

I tripped repeatedly on the walk. In these heels I was surprised I hadn't already broken my neck. Dimitri stumbled behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I love you, Dimka." I slurred happily as I leaned on the inside doors of the elevator.

"As I love you, Roza." He whispered in my ear, toying with a strand of my hair.

Dimitri took the vodka bottle from me and opened the room, then sat on the couch and patted the seat next to him. I threw my heels in the corner of the room and took the seat. We clinked our filled glasses and said cheers to what was going to be a disastrous night.

Fifteen minutes later we were laughing uncontrollably and sharing secrets.

"Okay," I slurred. "Who was your first kiss?"

Dimitri smirked, "Natasha Ozera." I wrinkled my nose, unable to hide the disgust. Tasha was a pretty girl, no lie, but lately it had been far past gross to imagine him kissing any girl. He chuckled at my reaction.

"What about you?" Dimitri asked before he took a chug of the vodka from the bottle. We'd given up on glasses and were passing the bottle back and forth now.

"James Zeklos," I bit my lip, waiting for his reaction. I had a feeling it would wipe that grin off his face.

"Ivan's younger brother?" I nodded, Ivan had been Dimitri's best friend and charge up until six weeks ago. James was his younger brother, though he was still a year older than me.

"Yeah," I thought about all the times I'd been with James and added, "I think technically he was my first boyfriend, too."

"Wait," Dimitri set the bottle down, which I'd instantly picked up. "So all those times I brought you and Viktoria over to Ivan's house you two were hooking up with him?"

"No! No, only I was hooking up with him while you and Ivan did whatever you two did. Vik just snuck out the window and met another friend at the park across the street." I admitted. Dimitri looked confused and furious, I have to say it was a hilarious combination of expressions on his face.

"Oh, Rose." He shook his head. Clearly, a drunken Dimitri was less tempered, unlike a drunken me.

"My turn," I tried to change the subject but desperately wanted to know this. It's been bothering me since Dimitri started bringing home friends in Baia. "Who did you lose your virginity to?"

His facial expression reflected shock, but evened out to a gentle amusement. "Jeanne Voda," Dimitri finally admitted. I put, or rather dropped, the nearly emptied vodka bottle on the floor.

I moved closer to Dimitri and tried to push him playfully, however, drunk or not this man was built and wasn't moving anywhere anytime soon. He laughed at my failed attempt.

"Not Tasha?"

"Nope."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Rose, I think I'd know. I was there." Dimitri replied with a humorous sigh.

"Whatever." Details. I moved closer to him, practically on his lap as I elbowed him and winked. "Dimitri Belikov, you've been reeling in a lot of royal ladies."

Dimitri out right laughed. But, it was nice. I loved it. His laugh was carefree and wrapped around the room like silk. I don't think he'd been this relaxed in a while.

"Yeah, okay, whatever you say." I grinned idiotically, but my face smile faded when he asked, "When was your first? And to who?"

"Er."

"What?"

I coughed, "What?"

"Rose?"

"Dimitri."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I'm not going to."

We both stared at each other before he gave up. Dimitri stood up and threw away the empty bottle of what had been Russian Vodka. I'm telling you now, it's like drinking liquid fire. As Dimitri sat down on the couch, he pulled me onto his lap and played with a strand of my hair. Instantly, my small muscles relaxed and my body fit perfectly with his.

"It's okay that you're a virgin." Then Dimitri thought about what he just said. "Well, actually it's better that you are, you're only sixteen."

"Almost seventeen." I reminded him.

"Still." He dropped the lock of hair and met my eyes, his deep brown orbs were gorgeous.

"When did you lose yours?" I asked innocently.

"That's irrelevant."

"Liar, you probably lost it before you were sixteen."

"Rose," Dimitri chastised, though drunken and slurred it sounded like a groan.

"You can't lie to me Dimitri, we both know that."

"I think it's the other way around."

"But you cheat."

Our tiny argument diffused with both of us bursting into giggles. Well, I giggled and he just laughed. Same thing.

"Dimitri," I twirled a loose strand of his hair in my fingers. "You're so...so..." I couldn't find the word. Mentally I filled in the blank with words: caring, amazing, protective, drunk, loyal, honest, sexy... really any of them would fit. Although the drunk one was just for tonight.

Without letting me finish, Dimitri closed the space between us and placed a soft kiss to my lips. It only lingered for a few seconds, but damn was it something. I'm to be cliché here and say that sparks started to fly, electricity ran between us, his lips were perfectly sculpted to fit mine, and just about any other mushy thoughts.

The moment, no matter how wonderful to me, was short lived. I cut off my thoughts from him by constructing a mental barrier, as best as I could, with this much alcohol in my system and broke away as I ran for the bathroom.

Dimitri helped hold back my hair as I became sick and then brushed my teeth. He didn't need any help and didn't appear to be as wasted as I was. That was just great.

Either way, I decided to fall asleep on the far side of the bed. Sub consciousness took me over easily. I started to dream of a beautiful Caribbean beach, with the sun soaking my body. This was one thing I knew could never be true in reality for a Moroi. The blinding, insanely hot, sun would have cooked us in seconds.

Suddenly, as I opened my eyes to the smell of smoke, I found myself lying on the floor in my house in Baia. The smoke choked my senses, and the flames started to bite at my body. I screamed out for help. The fire started to seriously burn me and my hoodie even caught on fire. I kept screaming and thrashing around.

"Roza!" Dimitri shouted to me. I sat upright in bed, my neck and forehead covered in beads of sweat. Long, dark strands of hair stuck to me, which Dimitri had started to tuck back behind my ears.

Breathing heavily and now feeling the hangover headache coming on, I felt terribly sick.

"Come here, Roza." Dimitri ushered calmly. I'm sure his own head was pounding, and with the addition of my mind, he must be dying inside. Though a Guardian never showed their true feelings most of the time. I snuggled up against Dimitri's heated body and quickly fell back asleep as he hummed a lullaby for me.

"Thank you," I said before I fell into a real, good night sleep.

_Hehe, so **review** with **comments** and **suggestions**._

_Any cute or dramatic or funny scenes you want to see, **review** with the **idea**._

_I love them all, they make me smile. I love you all too._

_~Kaitlyn_


	5. Kings & Queens

**Hello :) I hope you enjoy this chapter! Pay very close attention to everything that happens.**

Chapter Five.

"Do you like this one or this one?" I held up two different pairs of designer jeans in my hands and waited for Dimitri to answer the question.

Without even glancing back he said, "The left one." I glanced down at them, at Dimitri, and then back at the jeans. I sighed.

"You're no help at all!" I exclaimed, putting them both down and moving to stand within his sight. "You didn't even look."

"Rose, I don't really think I'd be much help even if I did look. I care more about keeping you safe from harm than helping you decide which jeans you want, anyway."

"_For the millionth time, _it's daylight out!" My poor skin and mental strength were paying for that. "There are no Strigoi out now, and so far we've encountered no other threats." I crossed my arms as a response to the hardened look on his face.

Dimitri only stared at my with that same intense look for a few minutes. Finally he spoke up.

"You never know." He said.

I shook my head and waved him away as I headed toward some killer heels. They were gorgeous! Of course they only reminded me of the time Dimitri and I had been drunk. I'd worn similar heels when we went out for dinner and ended up drinking. We'd been pretty careless, and ever since Dimitri has been even more protective and strict. It was a miracle I was able to leave the hotel room this past week. I blame that damned kiss. Not that I regretted it completely.

I turned away from the heels and met back up with Dimitri so that we could get out of this store.

An hour later, Dimitri and I stood facing a large pile of ruins.

"It used to be a castle." He informed me as we strolled down a brick path leading to a broken arch.

"What happened?" Normally, under the duress he's been putting me through I'd have a witty quip as a response. However, the castle was too intriguing not to ask.

"It was destroyed."

"No, really? I couldn't tell." I had to roll my eyes at his ridiculous answer. Honestly, how dumb did he think I was?

On cue, Dimitri smirked. It was that special smirk that only showed occasionally, and always because of whatever he saw through my mind. I wish I could hold up better walls so he wouldn't have access to my mind so often.

"You didn't let me finish, Roza." Without speaking, I made a gesture for him to continue. Once he made sure the coast was clear he launched into a story. "A few thousand years ago, this castle was the largest in the Eastern lands. It belonged to King Aleksandr and Queen Veronika. They belonged to the royal family of the Badica's."

I raised my eyebrows at him, "This castle belonged to Royal Moroi?" He nodded.

"Yes, you see they were one of the more common families back then, not like they are now." Now, the Badica's were the second smallest family, only to the Dragomir's. I was pretty sure there was literally only four of them left. Dimitri continued, "King Aleksandr and Queen Veronika married very young, around the age of eighteen, but were the most loved rulers in early Eastern Europe at the time."

We passed under the broken arch, and I gently brushed the vines that hung from it away from my face. The closer we got to the ruins, the larger the castle appeared to be. Sadly, there was no moat surrounding it, that would've been cool, but there were canons lined up at the windows on the remains of the second and third floor. From the outside, it look eerie. Statues of knights and horses cast shadows all over what was left of the courtyard.

The sun became a little too much for me, and as Dimitri started to feel my emotions, he stopped midsentence to guide us inside the castle's doors. Shade gave me great relief.

"Where was I?" Dimitri asked me. I shrugged and reached out to touch one of the paintings still hanging on the wall. I was pretty sure we weren't allowed to touch anything, but no one said or did anything to me.

"Are these people in the painting Aleksandr and Monika?" I asked.

Dimitri gently pulled my arm away from the painting, causing heat to build on the places our skin touched. He half smiled down at me and said, "You mean Aleksandr and Veronika?" Dimitri's tone was clearly more playful and relaxed today. I was glad because all week he'd worn his Guardian mask and then bitched at me whenever I was more than five feet out of his sight.

"Yeah, sure, whomever."

"Oh, Rose." I playfully elbowed him and winked. Dimitri continued telling me about this young Queen and King of Eastern Europe. As much as I'd hate to admit it, I was actually interested in what he was telling me.

Apparently Queen Veronika was a very kind ruler, unlike her husband. Aleksandr was said to be snarky and loved watching others being punished for their crimes. I suppose Veronika Badica must have been one hell of a lady for everyone to love both of them. Listening to Dimitri's stories, I actually did come to like her. She reminded me of someone I'd once heard of... except I couldn't place my finger on her.

Queen Veronika was known as a beautiful, young, and wise ruling Queen. Other pictures in the dark castle proved to be so, too. She wore long, elegant dresses that fit the older era. Pearls and huge gowns usually surrounded her. She had the usual long, dark hair that accompanied Badica's. Her and Aleksandr had that in common, though Aleksandr fit the Badica reputation for having dark eyes, Veronika's eyes were a light green. They looked almost like the color of the jade jewels she wore around her neck in the painting.

"It's too bad she died an early age, though." Dimitri said. I jerked my gaze away from the paintings on the wall to give him a strange look.

"Who died at an early age?" I asked.

"Queen Veronika," Dimitri's firm gaze rested on my own. "Weren't you listening to me?"

I planned on avoiding answering that, so instead I changed to topic back to the infamous Queen Veronika. "How old was she when she died?"

Dimitri gave me another skeptical look before answering, "Twenty-nine." My mouth dropped. I was sure even back then, that was a very young age to pass away at.

"Really? What happened to her?"

"She became mentally unstable over the years and eventually took her own life. It was a very sad day for the country at the time. Queen Veronika was massively loved and she even performed healings and births to many townspeople. Some wanted to call her a saint." Dimitri told me. I pondered that for a minute. Casually, I looked up and down the hallway at the pictures hanging on the brick walls. There were tons of Veronika, Aleksandr, and both of them, but there were never children in any.

"Did she ever have children?" I asked.

"I don't believe so," Dimitri gave a similar glance down the hallway. Huh. That was strange for a Royal Moroi woman. Usually they brag about their Royal children.

"Maybe she thought her child would become mentally unstable, like sick, just as she was." I proposed. However, a shake of Dimitri's head told me otherwise. "Well, why not?"

He lead me down the spiral stairs and back to the main entrance to the castle. The sun was much lower in the sky than it was when we first arrived. I was thankful for this, because the main section of the castle where Dimitri was headed towards was out in the open. The bricks and stones that must have once been a part of the ceiling for the large room were in crumbled heaps on the ground.

"This was the grand ball room where all the Royal parties were held many years ago." Dimitri informed me. I glanced around at the few decorations and lamp posts that had remained despite the thousand years of decay and destruction. It must have been glorious back in the day.

"Why is this room so important in why the Queen did or didn't have children?" I asked him.

"There's another part of the King and Queen's story that lies in this room." He said. "You wouldn't know much of this from the castle, especially since the Moroi and Dhampir world has gone into hiding, but I remember learning a lot about King Aleksandr and Queen Veronika from Church and my time in school here." I nodded along, eager to hear more about this fascinating couple.

"Queen Veronika had known for a long while that she was becoming mentally unstable, but she'd known even longer that her beloved husband wasn't perfect either. His cruel punishments and snarky attitude caused some fear in the townspeople, however Queen Veronika wrote about an entirely different King in her journal. She would describe King Aleksandr and caring and misunderstood, and even go into detail about how he would always look out for her and make sure that she was never feeling anything less than happy or perfect. It almost seemed like the King was a whole other person when he was with her. Over the years, it became obvious that the Queen was having some problems. She would occasionally snap at people, make nonsense monologues, and self harm. It emotionally hurt her as well as hurt the people in the kingdom to witness this happening to their beloved Queen, as was reported by people at the time. Doctors were unsure of the cause to her mental deterioration, but they were certain it wasn't genetic."

"So she could have had children without passing this on?" I interrupted him to ask.

Dimitri nodded and then continued on with the story. "The most amazing part of her sickness was the kingdom coming together to make her feel better. The King would host grand parties, the commoners would bake goods for her, and those who had sought her help in the past came back to the castle to offer her anything she wished for."

"If she had everything then what did she have to wish for?" I questioned. Dimitri's lips turned up at the corners.

"She didn't have everything, Rose. The Queen had always loved children and did dream of having her own once she was ready. Once she learned that this unknown sickness wouldn't affect her children she pushed her husband to have one. He complied, happy to please his Queen with everything she asked for. He would have given her the world, if only he could." Dimitri paused and looked down at me.

I looked up to meet his eyes. "So the Queen wanted babies and the King wanted to give them to her, so what?"

"The King was unable to give the Queen what she wanted so badly, because no matter how many times they tried, Queen Veronika and King Aleksandr were unable to have children."

My mouth fell open and I reluctantly closed it. Not wanting to have children was another story, but being physically unable to have children? That was horrible.

"It must have destroyed her." I told Dimitri as we made our way the arch in the entrance of the castle.

"It did." Dimitri agreed. "She became an emotional wreck and it took years for her to finally accept that she could never bear children. By then, the commoners and peasants and other royalty in the country were coming to her offering the most extreme things. Some wanted to give her their child and others were even willing to try for a baby with her in hope that Veronika would be given what she most wanted in the world."

"A child." I whispered. Dimitri nodded in approval then wrapped a secure arm around my shoulders. "So what happened to the Badica line after that? Did she accept any of their offerings?"

"No, Roza, Veronika didn't want to have a child unless it was with Aleksandr, no matter how much she wanted one. The Badica line did not continue from this family, though there were others in the America's and other European countries that did prosper. This line ended with King Aleksandr and Queen Veronika. After she passed away the King wanted nothing to do with other suitors, for he was too lost over his Queen."

"Didn't you say earlier that the Queen took her own life?"

Dimitri frowned, his face solemn, "Yes. Her mental instability became too much for her to handle and it was such a tragic loss that the King and the whole Kingdom mourned long after she was gone."

The talk of the old King and Queen ended there, as did our tour. Soon enough we were making our way back to the hotel that we continued to stay at.

"Do you ever think that we should leave the hotel?" I asked Dimitri.

"We left today didn't we?" I rolled my eyes, but replied with a smile on my face.

"I meant that we should buy a house or something. A permanent residence." Dimitri pondered this.

"It would cost a lot of money from your savings Roza, but I think in the long run it would be better than staying here much longer." The dark form of the hotel peered out from the darkness and mild fog that surrounded the city of Novosibirsk. "Besides, I think the manager is getting suspicious of us."

"What's so suspicious of two people with a significant height and age difference staying in a hotel for months with loads of money and no explanation for where it came from?" I asked with much sarcasm, although it was intended to be a playful response.

Dimitri didn't have enough time to come up with a witty reply before the psi hounds attacked.

It was as if they materialized out of nowhere. Dimitri reacted with incredible speed as he jumped to block me from the first hound. There were a total of five surrounding us, but luckily Dimitri was a complete badass.

It was hard to keep track of what was going on, but for the most part I think we were winning. Somehow Dimitri had gotten a hold of a jagged edged pipe and was swinging it wildly at the hounds. I knew he also had a silver stake on him, but I supposed it wouldn't do as much damage as the pipe seemed to be doing.

There were three hounds facing off with Dimitri and two lingering in the back. One was making its way, slowly, towards me. Dimitri's back was to me, though I could tell that this battle was taking a lot out of him and would essentially wear him out. I could also tell that no matter how much Dimitri wanted to protect me from these psi hounds, taking on all five was impossible. Even for a god like him.

The psi hound was getting closer and closer to me and I had no idea of how to fend it off. Silently I prayed that I would specialize in one of the elements now before the hound chewed my head off. The hound sprang up and leapt towards me with its razor sharp claws extended. I knew deep down that I was never going to specialize, forget being a late bloomer, I was eternally fucked.

Dimitri miraculously appeared in between the psi hound and myself just in time to swat it away like a fly. The pipe he held in his hand, as if it were a baseball bat, dripped with blood and so did cuts all over his body. When the hound didn't get up from where it landed on the concrete floor, Dimitri sank down on his knees and released the pipe from his vice grip.

I looked around to see that all of the hounds were motionless on the floor and that Dimitri had taken them all down. My heart sang out to him and I reached out to cradle his head in my hands before he hit the floor. I stroked his hair and whispered sweet things to him, praying that he stayed awake. Who knew how many internal injuries he was suffering from besides his open wounds and many bruises on the surface.

"Dimitri," my voice croaked. I continued to stroke his dark hair and wipe away the blood marks from his face. "Please don't leave me. Stay awake. Keep your eyes on me. Don't close your eyes. Please, Dimitri."

I begged for him to stay and finally when his eyes started to shut and I realized there may be nothing more I can do, I cried on his chest and repeated the words I knew were wrong no matter how right they felt. "I love you."

A magical feeling welled up in my chest and I found a way to release in through my hands, allowing it to flow into Dimitri. It was hard to describe the warmth that came from within me. I just imagined the happiest moments I spent with Dimitri and the times I truly felt as though I was adopted into the wrong family. For how could someone come to love their "brother" the way I did?

Once the magic dried up I pulled my face away from Dimitri's chest and attempted to wipe the tears from my eyes. It was hard to believe what I was seeing, despite the fact that I knew it was true. All of Dimitri's cuts and bruises were gone. They vanished without leaving a trace. Color came back to Dimitri's cheeks and his eyes started to flutter open. I nearly wept with joy.

Dimitri may not have been dead minutes ago, but he was certainly healed from all of his injuries. He sat up and in one look at me knew what had just occurred. It must have been because he looked into my mind to see what had happened. Dimitri's arms wrapped around me and he held me close to him, nowhere near ready to let me go.

"Did you mean what you said?" He asked, muffled into my neck. "That you love me?"

I dug my nails into his back and held onto him. It took a few minutes for me to gather my strength before I replied. "Yes." I whispered. "I do love you."

This time he broke away from me and looked at me, as if analyzing every possible reason for my saying that. Finally, he started breathing at a normal pace again and stood up, pulling me with him.

"Roza, you're not supposed to."

I tried not to feel hurt upon hearing this from him.

"You can't love me, do you understand that?" He continued. Dimitri gripped me by the shoulders and slightly shook me.

"No, I don't understand. Why can't I love you?"

"Because...I'm your brother, it's not...it's wrong."

"You're not my brother, Dimitri, you never were. I was adopted and we never did act like brother and sister. So tell me, how is it so wrong to feel this way?"

I expected Dimitri to shake me some more or yell at me over how stupid it was that I felt this way about him. Instead he closed the space between us and kissed me. It was nothing like the one drunken kiss we'd shared a while ago. This was so much more. It was everything I'd thought it would be.

I broke away before he could and embraced him in a hug. "I'll never leave you." Dimitri promised me. "I won't ever let anything like this happen to you again, I won't risk it. We're going to move far away from here and I'll be your Guardian from now on. I swear, Roza, you'll be alright."

"I know, Dimitri." I told him. "I trust you." My eyes closed and my heart rate slowed down. I was exhausted from earlier and even though I didn't understand how it happened, I do know that somehow I was the one who'd healed Dimitri.

**Thank you for reading! Please review. I am working on all of my stories right now, including re-writing I Didn't Promise Anything . **

**Don't forget to check out my one shot that is related to this story!**

**It's about what happened when Rose and Dimitri go back to their burned house.**


End file.
